Monday, March 2, 2015

Today marks 20 weeks and 1 day pregnant for me. It also just happens to be our anatomy ultrasound. Mr. B and I went into the appointment fully expecting to keep the sex of the baby a surprise.

As I laid on the table, I kept having this inkling... this sudden desire to know RIGHT NOW.

Mr. B was ushered into the room by the technician and when she asked 'are you finding out the sex?' we both, after a quick confirming glance, said 'no'.

The appointment ended and as I put myself together I said to Mr. B 'are you sure you don't want to find out?' He shot me a puzzled look. I had been adamant up until this point that we would not be finding out but all of the sudden I had to know. The technician then volunteered that she could still tell us and we both looked at each other and said 'yes, we want to know'.

it's a BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apparently, both of us lost our willpower in the moment but thankfully, neither of us regret the decision at all!

Friday, February 20, 2015

Oscar weekend is nearly upon us. I'm sad to say it's very likely I haven't heard of, let alone seen, the majority of the movies nominated for awards BUT that doesn't stop me from enjoying the show!

As much as I know there are some amazing movies to be watched and celebrated, it's probably no surprise that my favorite part of the Oscars is seeing what everyone is wearing. I can't help but imagine what I would wear if I ever found myself walking the red carpet.

It just so happens that the planned linkup topic for this week is about glamming it up for the Oscars! I was a little overwhelmed and somewhat daunted by the task of picking a possible dress out of the millions of possibilities that exist on the internet. Where would I even start?!

As fate would have it, I procrastinated writing this post until today when I was able to partner up with Weddington Way to create my own Ocsar look using a dress from their chiffon bridesmaid line. I was inspired by ALL of the beautiful dresses (and there are A LOT).

It was still challenging to pick just one dress, but I managed to pick something elegant and beautiful.

Naturally, I can't just show you a picture of the dress, I had to create my entire dream look. So here it is:

Dress - "Style 6651 by After Six is a one shoulder full length bridesmaid dress in lux chiffon. It features a twist detail at the draped bodice."I chose this dress because it's simple and elegant. I went with this beautiful green color because it's not something I'd usually wear, it's unique, and it's not my default black dress ;) Check out Weddington Way on Facebook for lots of dress ideas and contests! They're also on Pinterest and a great resource for your wedding or glam boards!

Jewelry - I'd stick with just earrings for this one because of all the other accessories I'd want BUT the earrings would need to be fantastic! I want big gold chandelier earrings that would graze the top of my shoulders, emphasizing the one-shoulder design of the dress (and my magically toned arms - this is my Oscar 'dream' after-all).

Makeup - I love me a smoky eye so it would be a must-have for this dramatic evening look. I would pair that with a nude lip so as to not overdo it.

Hair - For me, it wouldn't be a fancy night out without a pretty updo. A loose curly updo to be exact and possibly over to the side (the side opposite the shoulder of the dress - for good measure).

Clutch - Any excuse for a new purse works for me! Now that I think about it, I don't have a gold clutch...

Shoes - I will pretend for a minute that I don't live where it's -30 and that if I were attending a red carpet event, I'd be able to rock some strappy sandals without losing appendages due to frostbite. Yes, I picked Jimmy Choos... a girl has gotta dream.

There it is folks... so if you do happen to see me on the red carpet one day, this may just be what you see me in.

Happy star-gazing this weekend!! xo

OH and don't forget to check out the other Style Me Bloggers picks below AND linkup and share your dream Oscar looks.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Valentine's Day was a hit in our house!! Mini-me was so excited that she woke up at 5:30, much to the chagrin of Mr. B and I. She thoroughly enjoyed her Dora card and stickers (all of which need to be applied immediately while we were still in bed).

Unfortunately, Mr. B had to work during the day, but the sting of that was lessened by the fact that he bought me Hunter boots for V-day!!!

Mini-me and I got our cupcake making on and needless to say she had a blast!!! We did make a little bit of a mess, but the expressions on her face were more than worth some spilled flour on the counter.

I have to say, while maybe not as cute as the cupcakes from the Wilton website (in my last post), our cupcakes turned out pretty good! AND they were delish! So much so that mini-me has been asking for cupcakes for breakfast (she got fruit and yogurt instead, I'm nice, but not that nice!)

This past Monday was Family Day in Canada which meant a bonus day with my family!! What better way to start the day than having mini-me assist with pancake making?!?! She's become such a great little helper and she just loves it. Now anytime I'm doing anything on the counter she asks to help and wants to sit up on the counter.

Mr. B and I decided to reclaim our living room (aka move all of mini-me's toys) and provide her with a 'playroom' (aka half of our barely-used dining room).We couldn't be happier with the results and mini-me is also pretty excited to have an area of the house that's just for her (and not her bedroom). She's so excited about it that tonight at bedtime she said "night night playroom" as we headed up to her room. COME ON that's the cutest!

Sorry for the picture overload, I can't get enough of that little cutie!

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Mini-me is not quite two, but I LOVE any kind of holidays
and wanted to do something for her for Valentine’s Day… but what?

I don’t necessarily love holidays because of the gifts, but
more the fun associated with them. I remember getting excited for even the
smallest of holidays as a child and I want the same for mini-me (and future
mini of course).

So, what do you get/do for a toddler for Valentine’s Day??

Here’s some ideas:

A cute card

Right now mini-me is excited about anything (I mean, anything) that includes a picture of one of her favorite characters (or really even any character she recognizes). So natuarlly, when I happened upon a Dora Valentine, I had to have it. AND an added bonus: it comes with stickers!!!

Savings tip: you can make a card easily with some stock paper and pictures (from old books/magazines) and/or stickers. The possibilities are endless.

Coloring books and crayons

Mini-me is a big fan of coloring. Amazingly (and thankfully), she'll sit at her little table and color her heart out for quite a while.

Coloring books can be picked up from Walmart or the Dollar store for $1 a piece and crayons can be purchased for the same.

Family fun tip: sit down and color with your little one(s)! Mini-me LOVES when I 'help' her color. It's a good excuse for you to sit down and it shows your littles that they can enjoy quiet time with mom/dad. PLUS it kind of makes you feel like a kid again when you sit down and color with crayons.

Cupcake baking/decorating

Yes, mini-me is pretty little BUT I'm quickly learning she LOVES to 'help'. Sometimes that means things take longer and sometimes it means we make a mess, but it's worth it to see the pride on her face when she sees the finished result. It's good for her confidence and forces me to enjoy a task that might otherwise be mundane.

Yes, I will be making cupcakes from a boxed cake mix (feel free to make from scratch if you so desire - you can find some yummy recipies HERE) and using pre-packaged icing (again, you can make from scratch and it's fairly easy but it was on sale for $1 so pre-packaged it is). You can find all kinds of cute Valentine's Day themed cupcake holders from the Dollar store. You can even get cute heart-shaped sprinkles (yes, it will be messy, but so much fun :)

I bought good old 'fluffy white' icing, which I'll add a little red food color to make it 'festive' and away we go!

How do you have a toddler 'help'? Well, she can dump the box into the bowl, I can pre-measure the water or milk and she can dump that in (with my guiding hand, of course) and she can 'mix' (aka stick the wisk in the bowl before I actually mix it). She can probably help me line the muffin tin AND you know she'll be all over icing (which again, will very likely result in a mess, as well as some taste-testing). Sprinkles just have mini-me written ALL over them so that'll be her job (if you want to try and keep it somewhat tidy, use a baking sheet underneath).

Saving tip: you can literally scour the contents of your baking cupboard and make whatever you have ingredients for. There are lots of websites where you can enter ingredients and it will generate recipes allrecipes.com is one I use ALL of the time!

Family fun tip: let's be serious, this activity will be fun for EVERYone! You may need to do some cleaning when you're done, but you'll have yummy treats and a beaming toddler when you're done.

Friday, February 6, 2015

I’m supposed to be writing on the topic “random acts of
kindness”. More specifically, nice things I do for people without any reward.

This caused me pause. I had to really try and think of
things that I do for other people. Am I not a nice person?

Sure, I’ve given extra money in the Tim Horton’s drive
through so the person behind me could have coffee for free but I haven’t done
that in a while.

Then, the more I thought about it, the more it felt like I
shouldn't have to think this hard about nice things I do because it really
should just be part of who I am.

Have I been so worn out that I’ve stopped being nice?

No. That can’t be right. Right?!

I try and do nice
things for the people I love. Mr. B particularly benefits from this. Wait, let
me clarify because I know where your heads are going.

If I’m grocery shopping or something I’ll pick up things I
know he likes just because I know he likes them. I never attend the dollar
store without getting him candy (because he LOVES candy).

It’s the little things.

AND I completely and totally appreciate it when he does
stuff like that for me. Like the other day, he said “I got you a treat” and I found
a Reese’s peanut butter cups.

It’s so little but it says “I was thinking about you”.

I try and be
intentional about being kind to strangers like holding the door or letting a waiting car go in front
of me (though I secretly, now not so secretly, get a little irritated when people
don’t wave likely defeating the whole
purpose of being kind without needing appreciation lol).

I do other things too, but writing about them feels a little
un-modest.

This got me thinking about WHY I do kind things and why I
think that’s important.

First, because it feels amazing when someone does something
kind for you so imagine how it feels when you do something for someone else.

While we’re not rich, we’re fortunate is so so many ways and
can certainly stand to spare our time and money (within reason) for people and
causes in need.

It feels good. Being kind, even when no one knows it was
you, feels good.

I want my daughter to be kind, not because someone praises
her, but because she wants someone else to feel good. She’ll learn this from
us.

Why not?!

The world can be a crappy place at times. We have no idea
what a lot of other people are going through or struggling with at any given
time. We often have the power to brighten someone else’s day by simply being
kind. It doesn't need to cost money, it can be holding a door, giving someone a
compliment, or empathizing with someone’s plight. Regardless what you do, I
guarantee you’ll feel better for it.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

I need to stop saying that because something always happens
to prevent (read: excuse) me from blogging.

This last one is legit.

The day after my last post, mini-me came down with a
gastro-bug. Vomit EVERYwhere. ALL. NIGHT.

My heart ached for the little puking princess.

It was a quick bug, one day and she was back at it.

THEN mommy got it. I thought morning all day sickness was bad. Then I got this. I
quite literally was vomiting from 7am until 8pm. NON-stop. I kept trying to eat
to nourish the little bean in my belly but
no dice. Even too much water resulted in my head in the porcelain.

I spent the weekend
recovering and I hope (and pray) we’re back on track.

Oh except mini-me has decided since being sick that she’d
rather not sleep in her bed anymore and
would prefer to kick me in the face all night.

I had fully intended to write about my new attitude and my
efforts to live more in the moment and be more mindful; however, I need to
recover from last week before I can pull those thoughts together.

In other news, is it Spring yet?! I’m fully ready for winter
to be over.

Monday, January 26, 2015

so my lovelies, I must finally admit I've been with-holding information but the time has come to share....

Mini-me is going to be a BIG SISTER!!!

That's right, we're expecting!!!

The juicy detailsDue date: July 19 (that makes me 15 weeks!)How have I been feeling: UGH. Sick, sick and more sick. I've been battling all-day sickness since the get-go and had to go on diclectin because I was barely functioning. That combined with a few run-ins with cold/flu and I have been quite the disaster! I have also been insanely tired. It's a rare occasion I made it past 9pm and there have been much, much earlier nights. Are we finding out the sex?: Nope! As of right now, the sex of the little bean shall remain a surprise! We didn't find out with mini-me and it was fun but also easier than I thought. Plus, it's not like we get a choice anyways!I'm probably forgetting some commonly asked questions but my brain is a little foggy, plus it's getting close to the witching hour (aka 9pm). Hopefully this further explains my hiatus the last few months... I'm working on it!